A controversy has erupted over the fares of BEST’s air-conditioned bus service recently started by Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray. Some commuters and activists have said its fares are too high.
While officials of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Department told PTI that bus service fares have not received approval from the regulator- Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA), the BEST administration has claimed that its policy-making body has cleared the fares. Is.
State Environment and Tourism Minister and Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray on Sunday inaugurated 60 new electric buses of point-to-point (direct) service of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST). BEST is a municipal transport undertaking of the Shiv Sena-ruled city. Bus service has started from Tuesday.
According to BEST, passengers will have to pay Rs 75 to travel from the city airport to Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), Rs 125 to Nehru Planetarium in Worli, Rs 150 up to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and the airport. To go to Hotel Trident and Gateway of India located in South Mumbai, you will have to pay a fare of Rs 175.
However, citizens, passenger activists and experts allege that the fare is much higher than the normal BEST fare, which ranges between Rs 5 to Rs 20 for normal buses and Rs 6 to Rs 25 for AC buses for the same distance.
State Transport Commissioner and MMRTA member Avinash Dhakne confirmed that the transport tribunal has not received any proposal for bus service fare. Dhakne told PTI that no proposal has been placed before the MMRTA in this regard. However, the BEST administration claimed that its committee, the policy making unit of the undertaking, has approved the fare for the direct bus service.
However, it declined to comment on MMRTA’s acceptance. A spokesperson for the venture said the fares have been approved by BEST’s committee. A former official of the state motor vehicle department said that unless the regulator approves the fare structure prepared by the MMRTA-approved public transport bodies, it cannot be implemented.
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